What is your attitude to being in debt?

You need to understand your own attitude to debt. Do you have the willpower to get your debt under control and pay it all off? Or do you just want a ‘stay of execution’ whilst you hope for an easier, more elusive (non existent) solution to come along and drop in your lap? And are you going to moderate future spending so as not to get in any deeper?  Because there’s no solution to reducing personal or credit card debt that isn’t going to cost you one way or the other, either in money, your time or a change to the way you live. If you have debt, you will have already enjoyed the benefit of whatever you used the money for, and it is your responsibility to repay it sometime.

In order for you to get yourself out of debt, you need to spend no more than you earn. Preferably less. And the only way you can control your finances and your debt, is to first create a budget. Budgeting will help you understand the scale of your debt problem, and the tactics you need to employ to alleviate the problem.

We are all different. Our own combination of needs and wants, aspirations and priorities, strengths and weaknesses are exclusive to us. Only we can decide our best way foward, financially, but to be able to do that properly, we need a starting point, and that is a household or a personal budget. Whether you live in a multi income household or are a single parent living on a limited income, the principles are the same. You need to know exactly where you are now, before you can plan your financial future, and you need to be consistently spending less than you earn. A future where you have your debt under control and reducing, brings you closer to being able to save money and enjoying better times ahead. 

• Formulate an action plan to get out of debt.
• Go to Budgetting and take your first step towards getting your debts under control.